Search Results for: client

It was leaning in the corner of my client’s basement, and I recognized it immediately as one of those wooden grilles you’d see in a French door. “Oooh! Can we use that?” — one of my favourite questions when I’m decorating a room for…

You know I love nothing more than snooping around somebody’s house and rescuing something old so I can give it a new life. So when I spotted an old beige two-drawer filing cabinet in a client’s basement, I suggested we dress it up to…

A magician always has a favourite trick, and I’ve decided decorators do, too. Mine is a simple one that never fails to amaze my audiences: sawing an end table in half to transform it into two nightstands. How do I love this DIY? Let…

Sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes to see the things you’ve stopped noticing in your own home. I was recently standing in a client’s foyer, discussing what to pick up for the bedroom I was decorating for her daughter. We needed a…

Longtime readers may remember that a few years back, I was complaining about wrestling patio cushions into submission on a sweaty summer’s day. Well, much like childbirth, I forgot the pain and agreed to do it all over again. Recovering patio cushions is a…

I recently helped a client redecorate her master bedroom and we made a pretty spectacular impact with very little cash. I love how it’s now a space that expresses her fun, loving personality. It all started with a dresser makeover. Since we redid her…

You’ve probably been thinking about it for a while, if you read my newspaper column from time to time. Maybe you’ve even gone so far as to look at colour options and even bought the paint. But still, you’ve hesitated. Is painting a dresser…

I’m always guffawing at the prices of simple silhouette art in home decor stores. A solid-coloured canvas with a solid-coloured silhouette in the middle — a crown, a dog, a purse, a hamburger (OK I haven’t seen a burger painting but I’d sure like that…

On Monday I shared the fun (and budget-friendly) gallery wall I did for a client’s daughter, and today I thought I’d share the steps behind the oversized glitter-covered “Addy” that’s part of the arrangement. You’ll need: A sheet of foam core (mine was a…

When it comes to decorating around a bed, I know three things to be true … If you have different nightstands, they should at least be the same height. If you have different bedside lamps, they should be the same height and have the…

As much as I love decorating living rooms and kitchens and even bathrooms, my favourite room to decorate is a child’s room — specifically a really girly room. Pink is my favourite colour, I love glitter, and it’s so much fun to choose fabrics…

There are plenty of people who think it’s sacrilegious when I paint old wood furniture. I know this because they email me about it. 😉 It’s a personal preference and I get it. I really do. Their argument is that natural wood is beautiful,…

I’m Heather Laura Clarke. I’m journalist and blogger in beautiful Nova Scotia, I have an 8-year-old son and a 6-year-old daughter, I married my high school sweetheart, and this is the story of my handmade life.

I have depression and anxiety, and I fight like hell every day to keep it from taking over my life. Making things isn’t just a hobby — it’s part of what keeps me alive.

Whether I’m decorating a room, busting out my power tools to build furniture, getting muddy in the pottery studio, sewing clothes for my kids, or cross-stitching a swear word, I’m all about using my creativity to craft a life I love.